Wardrobe or locker



Feb. 4, 1941. F. ALBACH ETAL 2,230,475

WARDROBE OR LOCKER Filed Dec. 5, 1938 SShepts-Sheet 1 INVENTORS FRANK ALBACH 9 g GEORGE R. CHERVEN'KA 9 BY M ATTORNEY 1- F. ALBACH ETAL 0,475

WARDROBE OR LOCKER Filed Dec 3, 1938 a Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS FRANK 'ALBACH GEORGE R. CHERVENKA BY @M ATTORNEY 1941- I F. ALBACH EI'AL 2,230,475

WARDROBE OR LOCKER iled Dec. 3, 1938 3 sheetsrsheet 3 INVENTORS FRANK ALBACH GEORGE R. CHERVENKA ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 4, 1941 PATENT OFFICE-f.

WARDROBE OR LOCKER Frank Albach and George R. Chervenka, St. Louis, Mo., assignors to Fred Medan-Manufacturing Company, St. Louis, M02, a corporation of Missouri Application December 3, 1938, Serial No. 243,758

1 Claim. (CI. 20-16) This invention relates generally to storage lockers or wardrobes especially, though not ex-.

clusively, adapted for use in schools, factories, ofiices, public buildings and the like and, more particularly, to certain new and useful improvements in storage lockers or wardrobes of the multiple compartment type.

In such lockers or wardrobes, each compartment is usually separately equipped with individ ual doors. In the present instance, such doors are of folding jack-knife type, and our present invention has for its primary object the provision upon the wardrobe or locker of readily constructed, easily and inexpensively. installed'and maintained, and conveniently operable means or mechanism for simultaneously opening and closing the folding doors of the several compartments.

And with the above and other objects in view, our invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination of parts presently described and pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings (3 Sheets)- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a multiplecompartment locker or Wardrobe equipped with folding door opening and'closing mechanism of our present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the locker or wardrobe, showing from the interior of a compartment of the lockerthe compartment folding door and the unison opening and closing mechanism;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of an auxiliary resilient or yielding member forming part of the door-opening and closing mechanism;

Figures 4 and 5 are fragmentary horizontal or cross-sectional views of the compartment folding doors, taken approximately along the line 44, Figure 2, respectively illustrating the folding door in fully and partially closed position;

Figure 6 is an enlargedfragmentary vertical sectional view of a compartment door-section,

0 taken approximately along the line 66, Figure 2;

Figure '7 is a fragmentary horizontal or crosssectional view of a compartment door-section, taken approximately along the line 1'|, Figure 6; 1

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional View of the locker, taken approximately along the line 8-8, Figure 1;

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of a compartment door-section, taken approximately along the line 99, Figure 2; and

Figures 10, 11, and 12- are enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional views of the locker, taken approximately along the line Ill-40, Figure 1,

illustrating a plurality of the compartment folding-doors in fully closed, partially closed, and fully opened positions, respectively.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of our present invention, the present wardrobe A is preferably built up of and comprises a desired plurality of like preferably sheetmetal rectilinear sections or compartments a, each including a top wall I, opposed side walls 2, 2, a rear wall 3, and a bottom wall 4, the several like sections or compartments a being disposed, and bolted or otherwise secured together, in side-wall contiguous formation, as best seen in Figure 1.

Each of the locker compartments or sections a is formed with a front door-opening 5 marginally bounded by a pair of opposed parallel vertical stile members 6, l", and opposed upper and lower parallel horizontal rails 8, 9, respectively, the latter being provided with longitudinally extending channels ill, ll, preferably of U-section, presented inwardly in opposed relation.

Swingably mounted along a side margin upon the stile I by means of suitable vertically spaced hinges l2,'is a door-section d also constructed preferablyof sheet metal and preferably sized to extend, when in closed position, across somewhat less than one-half of the front door-open- Hingedly mounted on the opposite or relatively Welded or otherwise fixed at an arm H upon the inner face of the door-section d, is an operator lever-in the form of a bell-crank 0 having its opposite arm 48 inwardly extending horizontally preferably at right angles to the plane of the door-section d and pivotally provided at its free inner end With-a connector-member l9 suitably apertured for receiving an operating rod or bar 20. A suitable'locking set-screw 2 l' is threaded in the connector 19 for engaging the rod or bar 20 for securing the same adjustably to the operator 0, as best seen in Figure 2 and for purposes presently more fully appearing.

The doors of the several units or compartments a of the particularlockerA are thus of the several compartments or units a of the wardrobe or locker A is in like manner equipped with Way-engaging rollers I 6 and with an operatorarm 0 similarly attached to the link 20, which latter is of an overall length commensurate with the width of the several compartments a of the locker, as best seen in Figure 1..

Each of the door-sections d, d, of the several locker-compartments is suitably marginally flanged, as at 22, 23, for attractive stile-engagement when closed, and preferably each doorsection d is provided in its flange 22 with an aperture 24 for loosely or freely accommodating a push-pin 25 fixed at an end on the free end e of a leaf-spring 26 at its other end riveted or otherwise secured upon the inwardly presented face of the particular door-flange 22, all as best seen in Figure 3 and for purposes presently more fully appearing.

By reference to Figure 12, it will be observed thatthe door-section d of each unit a is of somewhat grea-ter width than its companion door-section at and is provided longitudinally with a rib or flute 21 spaced inwardly from its hinged margin a distance substantially equal to the difference between the widths of the companion doorsections d, d, for giving the two companion sections (2, d, of each compartment door a more or less balanced appearance when the same are in closurewise position across the door-opening 5.

For present descriptive purposes, one of the end compartments, as a, will be designated the master unit of the locker A, and it will be further observed, by reference to Figure 1, that the larger door-section d of the master locker unit a is provided marginally with handles 28, 29, for purposes presently appearing.

The door section d of unit a is also provided adjacent its upper margin with a conventional type of lock-member 30 having a movable bolt 3| for engagement with the upper s'tile 8 of the dooropening 5' for releasably retaining the door in closed position.

, Similarly, the door-section (1 associated with or companion to the door-section d of the master unit a is provided with an upwardly extending stop member 32 positioned for abutting engagement with the forwardly presented face of the rear flange Ill of the channel ID, the latter being provided in its forward flange 10" with a slot 33 for permitting the stop member 32 to move forward-1y upon outward swinging movement of the door-section d, all as best seen in Figures 6 and 7. While not here specifically shown, it will be understoodthat each door-section d of the locker A and each compartment-channel I0 may be similarly constructed for limiting door-movement to closed position.

In use and operation, the lock 30 in the master unit a is turned, actuating the bolt 3| out of retentive engagement with the rear flange 19' of the upper rail or channel l0, thereby unlooking or releasing the several doors of the locker ultimately to fully opened .position, as shown in Figure 12.

Now, as the master door-section d is so swung or shifted to full open position, its rollers 6 will move or roll in the channels or ways I0, I l, causing the companion master sections d, d, to move through a defined relatively angular path.

Meanwhile, on such movement of the master door-sections d, d, the master L-shaped operator or bell-crank 0 will be swung about an angle of 90 and at the same time shifted sidew-ardly. The operator rod or bar 20 will thereby be shifted longitudinally and each operator c correspondingly swung and shifted, thus transmitting sihowever, the several push-pins 25 are yieldingly depressed, such pins 25 subsequently and so long as the respective sets of door-sections d, d, are togg-lew-ise on a line of dead center functioning through pressure engagement with the fixed stiles 6 in yieldingly retaining the several folding doors of the structure in fully closed position.

Thus conveniently and easily the companion sections of the doors of the several locker compartments may be simultaneously opened and closed, the actuating mechanism being of simple and inexpensive, but exceedingly efficient, structure.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the locker or wardrobe may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described Without departing from the nature and principle of our invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is A locker structure comprising a plurality of separate compartments each having a door opening flanked by an upright stile, a plurality of sets of upstanding folding doors of jack-knife type for closing said respective openings, each of said sets including a first section hinged at a side margin to said stile and a second section hinged at a side marign to the free margin of the first section, trackwise extending upon the locker structure at the topand bottom and in parallel relation to the plane of each respective opening, members projecting from and at the free margin only of the second section of each of said sets movable in said trackways for defining the movement of the second sections at their respective free margins in paths parallel with the plane of said openings, the movement of the connected margins of the sections of each of said sets being arcwise with respect to the hinge-mounting of the first section thereof and wholly outwardly of the locker structure, and means including an elongated rod and respective bell-crank levers connecting the rod with the free margin of the second section of each of said sets for opening and closing the several sets of doors in unison.

FRANK ALBACH. GEORGE R. CHERVENKA. 

